Avatar the Last Airbender: New Complications
by CCD
Summary: Six months after the war, there is still much to be done to bring peace. When Azula overthrows Zuko, the team starts a new journey that will help them to get stronger and face unresolved issues.
1. When Things Fall Apart

Water...Earth...Fire...Air

Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony...Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked...

Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him the most he vanished...

One hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar. An air bender named Aang. We went on long journey to help him learn the other elements and made many friends along the way.

Now a group effort has brought the war to an end, but the road for peace is still a long and winding road. The war has left the four nations scared and divided, but I still have hope that we can save the world.

…...

**Six months after Zuko's coronation...**

A pair of amber eyes stared down at the parchment in front of him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he re-read the same sentence over and over again before pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Zuko, go to bed."

Zuko looked up at his doorway to see Mai standing there. She looked tired and a bit annoyed.

"I have to finish this. There's a meeting in the morning with the council. If I don't have these plans finished then it will give them another excuse to postpone our efforts to rebuild the Earth Kindom and Southern Water Tribe. Not to mention any other plans I try to push through."

Mai sighed. Ever since Zuko had become Fire Lord, he had run into more problems. While the title earned him respect, many of the Generals and the Council were put into place by his father. This would not be the first time Zuko's attempts to help rebuild the other nations. With his uncle in Ba Sing Se, his mother still missing and possibly dead, and his father and sister sitting in jail, Zuko only had her, the Avatar, and the other members of the Avatar team. The latter two were off settling their own affairs so that left her to watch as Zuko was slowly falling apart.

"This has to stop Zuko. You haven't slept and you've barely eaten anything in the past two days. I don't care about a lot of things, but I do care about you and I can't stand seeing you like this."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose again. He knew Mai had a point, but this was the responsibility that he accepted when he became Fire Lord.

"Mai, get some sleep. I'll be fine," he forced a small smile on his face, "When these plans are accepted, maybe we can go spend a week in Ba Sing Se with my uncle. I know we could both use the break."

Mai sighed again before turning to return to her room. She knew Zuko was lying, but there was nothing she could do about it at this point. He was a stubborn person, but that was one of the reasons she cared about him. She closed the door to her palace chamber and leaned back against the door.

Since Zuko was named Fire Lord, she had remained faithfully by his side. She moved into the palace and took on a responsibility as his aide and a body guard of sorts. Asassins who were against Zuko's campaign for peace had started to pop up and nasty rumors that Azula was trying to overthrow Zuko from her cell were whispered amongst the staff. Mai refused to allow the issues to reach Zuko's ears and the stress was starting to take it's toll on her too.

Instead of going to her bed, she crossed the room to the balcony. She had insisted on a room that faced the courtyard so that she could stare out at the calming scene and be comforted. The full moon reflected on the turtle-duck pond and created large shadows. She leaned across the balcony and tried to relax.

The sound of scratching and crackling broke through her turmoiled thoughts. She scanned the courtyard looking for the source when blue lightning shot in front of her face. The projectile user turned to look at the balcony next to hers and stared into wide amber eyes.

"It's been a long time Mai. Surely you remember your old friend."

"Azula," she said in a flat voice as she dropped a dagger from the hidden mechanism in her sleves to the palm of her hand.

Azula was definitely not the same woman Mai had known. Her long hair was down...matted and dirty. Her clothing was standard prison rags and her skin was caked in dirt. Her eyes were what made Mai pause. They were the same cold calculating eyes, but a hint of insanity lay underneath her usual calm.

"I see that you've made yourself comfortable in the palace. I could make sure things stay that way."

"What are you talking about Azula?"

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors of my plan to overthrow Zuko and take my rightful place as Fire Lord. However, I would rather not have to deal with the messy work. I would be willing to forgive you for the past if you would take care of my brother. Think about it Mai. We could rule this land as a team and continue with my father's vision for this world."

She jumped from the far balcony onto Mai's with catlike grace. She smiled making her look sinister.

"You're forgetting one thing Azula. I already told you once. I love Zuko more than I fear you."

Her cackle made the hair stand up on the back of Mai's neck. Azula hunched over and looked at her.

"Then I have no use for those who would betray me twice."

Lightning shot from Azula's fingertips and grazed her old friend's arm. Mai threw her dagger and leaped into the bedroom avoiding another deadly strike. She gathered another dagger into her hand before sliding to hide behind the bed.

Blood began to seep into her night robe. She ripped the sleave and wrapped it tightly around the cut on her arm tight enough to stop the blood flow. She winced when Azula spoke again.

"Come out you traitor. You can't hide for long and when I find you, you will die."

Lightning struck the bed and set it ablaze. Mai hopped up and threw her dagger. It embedded snagged Azula's sleave and embedded into the wall. The projectile user threw open her door and ran into the hallway...

…...

Zuko watched his girlfriend leave him to return to her room. Once she was out of sight he flopped down on his back. The past few months were taking their toll on him and he knew there had to be some way to cope. Maybe he could ask his uncle to return on a temporary basis to help him.

He stood and stretched before dropping into a firebending form. Stretching his sore muscles would help him to stay up a little bit longer. If he could get a second wind then he could finish within the next hour and get some sleep before the meeting in the morning.

Zuko finished his form and sat down to return to his paperwork, when he heard a loud thud. The Fire Lord glanced around the room when she heard a loud crash. He jumped to his feet and grabbed his broadswords before turning to meet an assailant.

Zuko swung his sword, blocking the flames that were being shot at him. His attacker wore the military uniform of the royal procession.

"Why are you attacking me? I am your Fire Lord and I order you to stand down."

The soldier stood his ground and bended an arc of flames at his target. Zuko jumped, dodging the flames, and brought one blade down so that the flat of it stunning the assassin. He landed to see more soldier climbing across the balcony. His main door burst open to reveal more soldiers...too many for Zuko to handle alone.

Fire flew from both sides. The Fire Lord blocked and evaided the assult as he made his way through the soldiers coming from the balcony. If he could only get through them then he could get to a more open area to fight.

Fire caught to his robes and he ripped the flaming sleave from his robe and flung it into the face of the nearest soldier. The soldier fell back onto other soldiers clearing a path for Zuko. He ran, stepping on the face of one of the falling assailants and flew through the air and off the balcony...

…...

Lightning zapped past Mai as she sprinted down the hall. She ducked into a corridor and jumped down a flight of stairs. An arc of flames was shot at her and she looked to see members of the Royal Precession.

"How do you like my loyal soldiers? Not only did they break me out of my prison cell, but they agreed to help me with this coup. Right now most of my soldiers were redirected to attack my brother. ZuZu won't stand a chance against the numbers."

Mai felt ill, but she would rather die than let it show on her face. She had to get away from Azula and her army and find Zuko. She swung her arms sending daggers and other sharp objects at the guards. Redirecting and reloading, she swung sending more at Azula.

She ran past he ex-friend throwing more daggers her way and took off down the hall trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. She could see a balcony at the end of the hall. It was her only way to quickly get out of the palace and get to Zuko. She might even find guards that were loyal to the current Fire Lord to help. She almost jumped off when a flash of red and silver caught her eye.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Zuko fighting off Azula's soldiers. He couldn't handle it alone. She had to get down there. Mai hopped up on the ledge and took aim with a dagger. She let it fly before pain shot up her body. Her body spun to see Azula looking gleefully with her outstreatched fingers smoking.

Mai was falling. Her body was in extreme pain while her mind was numb. For the first time tears weld up and began to fall down her cheeks.

_I love you Zuko. I am so sorry I couldn't protect you..._

…_..._

Zuko kicked a soldier back and created a Domino effect with the soldiers. He glanced for guards who were suppose to be on duty, but were no where to be found. Zuko turned and tried to get some distance from the soldiers when he saw her.

Mai was falling from a balcony. Her posture looked like she had been hit by something.

"Mai," he yelled her name before putting his sword away and catching her before she hit the ground. She was covered with blood.

"Mai, open your eyes."

The projectile wielder opened her eyes and tried to speak.

"Zuko...betrayed...Azula...run...leave me."

"I won't leave you."

He glanced back to see the soldiers closing in.

"Zuko...must get away...Avatar...hope...go...can't alone...love you..."

She tried to smile, but she was fading fast... "Go," she whispered before letting go.

Zuko clenched his hand into a fist before placing his girlfriend on the ground. He didn't have time to morn her death. He had to escape. The Fire Lord began to run, run as fast as he could to get outside of the castle grounds. He had to find Aang and the others. Mai was right; he couldn't do this on his own.

…...

Azula watched as her brother ran away. She began to laugh. Not only was she free, but she had struck her brother where it hurt the most. Now all she had to do is put the next part of her plan in motion and not only would she hold her position as the new Fire Lord, but she would also destroy her brother, the Avatar, and their pathtic friends.

"Captain...go and release my father from his cell as well and go fetch the fire sages. It is time for the rightful Fire Lord to take the throne."


	2. Friends Abroad

Katara woke startled from her nightmare. It had all felt so real to her. She had wanted to do something so badly, but couldn't. The water bending master stood and wrapped herself in her coat before exiting her tent.

The sun had barely risen over the horizon. Ice and snow glistened when the light hit them. Katara breathed in the cold air and smiled a little bit. The feeling of being home chased away the worry of her nightmare. She didn't have time to worry about what was going on in the Fire Nation when there was so much work to do rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe.

Katara returned to her tent, washed, and changed before setting off to begin her day. Since her return, she had been using her water bending to help create thick walls to surround her village. Not only would it be a good defense in times of trouble, but also was a barrier to the harsher elements.

She was meeting Master Pakku at the entrance to the village to continue with the construction of the wall. They were working on making the thickness of the wall even.

"KATARA!"

A sliding mess of blue and snow slid down and settled at her feet. Sokka climbed out of the cold mess and wiped it from his face and hair.

"Sokka, what are you doing?"

"I think I saw Appa. Have you seen Aang?"

"No, are you sure you saw him?"

"Of course I saw him. You can't miss Appa. He's huge."

Sokka arms stretched far apart and waved them up and down. Katara gave her brother a weird look before sighing.

"I'm heading to the village gate to meet up with Master Pakku. If Aang is here he might be there."

"I'm coming too. We haven't seen Aang for like a month and I think Gand-Pakku is finnaly warming up to me."

The duo walked to the gate when a white fuzzy creature flew by them. Momo landed on Katara's shoulder and made a noise as if to greet them.

Katara giggled, "It's good to see you too Momo."

"Katara. Sokka," Aang yelled as he came into sight.

Appa followed Aang and roared out his greeting. Aang had been on a trip back to the Southern Air Temple. He had been in talks with Zuko and the Mechanist about possibly referbishing the temple and making it into a haven for refugees. They would be doing the same to the Eastern Air Temple and aiding the Northern Air Temple's refuges with their construction. The Southern Air Temple would have to be made more accessable before they could use it for refugees.

"How did it go?"

"Zuko's got a lot on his plate as Fire Lord. He wants to help the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes first, but he was all for it. The Mechanist was excited about the possibility of working at the other temples. He and Teo have been wanting to see the other temples and said they would be happy to work out some of the plans to make the temples more livable. So...I think it went well even if we won't be able to start on the project for a little while."

"That means you have some spare time and you decided to come see us," Sokka said.

"I thought I could help with the wall and..." he paused looking at Katara, "I want to continue my training."

Katara looked puzzled. Aang had just about mastered water bending. Why would he need additional training?

"Anyway, I told Master Paku that I would help so let's go Katara," Aang said as he summoned his air scooter and took off towards where Master Pakku was standing on the wall watching them. Katara watched her boyfriend fly up the wall and chatted animately with his first water bending teacher.

"Hey, I promised dad that I would help him repair the ships today. We can continue this party when we get done."

"All right, I'll see you later Sokka."

Katara watched her brother leave with Momo flying off to join him before turning to get to work. Repairing the wall was grueling work, but with Aang there, the drying process would occur faster. Katara, Pakku, and other benders that had come from the Northern tribe would bend the water up while Aang blew air on the water, freezing it to the wall. After a few hours of work, Pakku wiped his brow and looked at the progress.

"I think it's time for a break. Let's go get some lunch."

They all agreed and began to decend down the latters. Katara slid down and nearly ran into Aang. He was looking up at the sun. Katara smirked and put her gloved hands over his eyes and giggled.

"Guess who?"

Aang smiled, "Katara, what are you doing?"

"You look distracted. Is everything all right?"

The two of them began to walk towards the cook fire. Katara was quiet as she waited for Aang to answer her.

"Yeah, just a little tired. I stopped and saw the Kiyoshi warriors. Ty Lee and Suki both had a gift for Toph's birthday so I went to Toph's parents house only to learn that she had gone to Ba Sing Se."

"Why is she in Ba Sing Se?"

"Iroh had sent for her. I don't know what for, though. They didn't want to talk about it, but Iroh said not to worry."

"...But you are worring about it."

"I trust Iroh, but something doesn't feel right. I don't think it has anything to do with what he and Toph are doing, but something else is going on."

Katara held her breath. Flashes of her nightmare came to mind. She didn't realize she had stopped until Aang called her name.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking..."

When she didn't continue, Aang prompted, "About what?"

"Last night I had a nightmare...when you said that something wasn't right. I guess it just reminded me of that."

"What was it about?"

"It's kinda crazy."

Aang opened his mouth to respond, but Sokka beat him too it.

"We're a part of team Avatar. Crazy stuff happens to us all the time," he said before pausing, "Now what crazy things are we talking about."

After getting Sokka up to speed Katara continued, "I had a dream that Azula got out of jail and she took over the palace. Mai had died and Zuko was forced to run...It was just a dream you guys."

"Yeah a creepy dream," Sokka muttered.

"The monks used to say that dreams were the keys that showed us things that have already happen or things that could happen. I've never believed in it, but I know Monk Gyatso did," Aang said. "It wouldn't hurt to check it out."

The trio sat lost in their individual thoughts. Aang stood up allowing Momo to climb on his shoulder.

"I'm going. I think my bad feelings and Katara's dream are too much of a coincidence."

"I'm going too. I have to tell Master Pakku, but I'm sure he'll understand Katara said.

"We're going on Avatar intuition and Katara's vodoo dream. Okay, someone has to come along to keep us sane," Sokka agreed.

After lunch Katara and Sokka set off to talk to Pakku and their Father. Both men understood and wished them well on their journey. When they returned, Aang was packing Appa and speaking with Gran-Gran. She was handing Aang some food for the journey.

"I hope that you can return to visit soon," she said turning to her approaching grandkids, "It feels like you've just returned, but I know that you need to do this. Just promise me you will look after each other and return home."

"We will," Sokka said dryly as Gran-Gran hugged him.

"Don't worry Gran-Gran. We watched each other's back the last time we traveled with Aang. We'll take care of each other," Katara said as she hugged her grandmother.

The elderly woman pulled back and smiled with pride on her face. Aang finished packing Appa's saddle. He leaped down next to his friends.

"All right we're all packed and ready to go."

"Wait, I have to go get my boomerang," Sokka yelled.

"Don't worry Sokka, Gran-Gran helped me to pack your things. I made sure to get your boomerang and your club."

"Oh...well then let's go."

The trio climbed up on Appa. Momo came flying through the air and landed on Katara's lap. The flying leamur curled up to get some sleep. Aang took hold of Appa's reigns and with the traditional 'Yip Yip' the trio was on their way to the fire nation.


End file.
